Why should midwives be concerned with ethics?

Is there such a thing as midwifery ethics? Yes, there is. As human beings (moral agents), midwives are to be ethical, moral, responsible persons and professionals. Midwives work in moral relationships with other persons. They serve by the moral standards of their profession as now embodied in written codes of ethics, a profession that is part of the larger health care profession. As part of the professional world, midwives participate in the general standard that to be professional is to be ethical and to be unethical is to be unprofessional. The professions, in turn, are part of what Eric Fromm calls "human ethics." If midwives are to be ethical, we suggest they need to understand ethics and to reason morally. Better health care for all is the result.